Verizon eases up on $350 ETF ‘advanced devices’ list

There’s been a good deal of hubub surrounding Verizon’s decision to up their early termination fee (ETF) for “advanced devices” to a whopping $350. The increased ETF was met with consumer outrage that eventually led to the FCC issuing public statements about how it’s not cool to charge customers an ETF that is meant to help with sales commissions and store expenses. The good news is that all this talk about Verizon’s unfair ETF policy has apparently prompted the carrier to ease up on its ETF requirements. Verizon has removed 10 high-end feature phones from its “advanced devices” list, freeing those phones of the burden of an ETF that could cost more than the phones themselves.

We haven’t heard anything from the FCC, nor Verizon, on what prompted the shift in policy, but it’s a good bet that things were getting a little too hot for Verizon’s legal team. It’s got to be hard trying to justify a non-smartphone as an “advanced device” just because it has a touchscreen.

Whatever the reason, feature phone buyers going to Verizon Wireless will be happy to hear that their devices will only be tied down with the lesser $175 ETF.